13,200 Girl Scout cookie boxes have been destroyed and dumped in a local landfill, sparking strong backlash by some who believe the organization could have been more charitable with the left-over cookies than so wasteful.

Reports have claimed that the 13,200 unsold cookie boxes were destroyed in California; they were allegedly smashed to pieces in a waste warehouse in Riverside, California, and then taken to a local landfill site to be dumped.

The cookies reportedly were still within their expiration date and still edible, sparking many to argue that the organization should have ensured they were donated to a good cause rather than wasted.

It has also been claimed that this is not an isolated incident, according to The New York Daily News. A report by the publication claims that unsold Girl Scout cookies have been dumped at landfills for years, although most supporters of the group have no idea that the hugely popular cookies are being dumped in such a wasteful way.

The investigation into the Girl Scout cookie dumping was carried out by CBS News. The network has reported that Chuck MacKinnon of the San Gorgonio Council of the Girl Scouts in Redlands, blames the destruction on the bakery who supplies the cookies rather than the Girl Scouts.

ABC Bakers apparently has a policy of only allowing one percent of unsold boxes to be returned fora refund. In this particular case, it is reported that the San Gorgonio Girl Scout council grossly overestimated the number of cookies they could sell, meaning 13,200 boxes could not be returned for a refund. MacKinnon has claimed that he was not aware of how the cookies would be treated and did not know they would end up in the landfill.

MacKinnon also claims that the council does have a policy of donating unsold cookies, and last year gave away more than 10,000 boxes. He admits that they could have and should have donated the 13,200 boxes in question this time around.